Isaac

Jones

Detroit added Jones in November after he was waived by the Kings, but he only made a few appearances for the Pistons, with most of his team being spent in the G League. However, he was able to turn in a strong performance in his summer league debut. He’s worth keeping an eye on, though it is unlikely he ends up playing a rotation role for the Pistons this season.

Jones was waived by the Kings to make room for them to sign Precious Achiuwa. Detroit will use their 15th roster spot to add Jones, though he won’t be more than a depth piece. Don’t expect to see him be part of the rotation.

Sacramento will waive Isaac Jones in a corresponding move. Achiuwa offers frontcourt depth and can make an immediate impact at PF. He’s not on the fantasy radar yet, but managers should keep an eye on his playing time and production.

Ellis is the lone change to the Kings’ starting lineup. He replaces Isaac Jones in a smaller lineup. He’ll likely take on the unenviable task of defending James Harden, which allows Schröder to shift onto Bogdan Bogdanovic. Ellis is a solid deep-league option, especially as the Kings await Keegan Murray’s return from a wrist injury.

Sabonis gets the start in his season debut, which pushes Drew Eubanks to the bench. That isn’t surprising. The surprise is that Jones, who missed the season opener with an illness, will get the first start of his career. It’s unclear if he’ll play starter-level minutes, but he’ll be part of the opening group.

Jones will be back after missing the season opener, but he will likely only have a minimal role, if he sees the floor at all.

The Kings will be without three frontcourt players for Wednesday’s opener, as Jones joins Keegan Murray (thumb) and Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) on the injury report. Jones misses out on the opportunity to play rotation minutes off the bench, meaning the Kings will require more of Drew Eubanks and Dario Šarić, with Dylan Cardwell potentially receiving some playing time.

Under normal circumstances, Jones’ absence from practice would not be something for fantasy managers to worry about. However, with Domantas Sabonis (hamstring) and Keegan Murray (thumb) out, there’s a legitimate chance Jones will be asked to play rotation minutes when the regular season begins. Sacramento visits the Suns on Wednesday. Jones is unlikely to have an impact in standard fantasy leagues, but he’s worth tracking in deep formats.

Jones had an outstanding summer league, capping his run with a double-double in Sacramento’s five-point defeat. Over his last two games in Las Vegas, the second-year forward shot a combined 23-of-34 from the field, scoring 60 points. Due to Sacramento’s frontcourt rotation, getting the playing time needed to impact fantasy basketball next season will be challenging. However, Jones’ play in Las Vegas was encouraging, and the Kings trading Jonas Valančiūnas to the Nuggets earlier in July does help open up some rotation minutes that Jones could sneak into.

The Kings picked up Jones’ option for this season last month and perhaps his summer league performance will earn him some more minutes this year. The undrafted 25-year-old power forward from Washington State likely won’t impact fantasy basketball, but the Kings should give him the opportunity to sink or swim in regular season action. The Kings advanced to the Summer League finals behind Jones’ 36 points on Saturday.